73 – X-FACTOR

Subject: X-Factor
Roster: Havok (Team Leader), Polaris, Multiple Man, Wolfsbane, Strong Guy, Val Cooper (U.S. Government Liaison)
First Appearance: X-Factor #71, October 1991

Seems super weird to have X-Factor’s first appearance be in X-Factor #71, huh? Well, that’s because this X-Factor team is different from the original X-Factor team, made up of the original X-Men first class (the comics, not the movie). That team, made of Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, and Jean Grey, had been a privately funded mutant advocacy group. When those guys returned to the X-Men, the government created a new federally-sanctioned X-Factor, starring those guys you see on the card.

The relaunch, written by Peter David and drawn by Larry Strohman, was beyond quirky and eccentric: it was strong on the satire, and really played up the clashing personalities of the various members, all of whom had huge chips on their shoulders. If you were really into the Image look/feel it was either a huge turnoff or a refreshing palate cleanser (in a different way from Excalibur‘s weird whimsy and dimension-hopping, which were often headache-inducing). As a kid it was definitely a little bit of both. I gravitated mostly on the stylized art and the team’s badass costumes, even if I couldn’t remember much of the actual plot.

Lee’s art here disappoints yet again. While it’s not the claustrophobic composition of the Blue Strike Force card, it’s far too distant and hasty, making it look like the generic 90′s Marvel look, and not the Jim Lee aesthetic. I’d say this was because of his unfamiliarity with the characters, but almost all these guys got competently drawn individual cards.

Finally, the team bio chooses to profile government liaison Valerie Cooper in the Team Leader photo, even though it clearly says that Havok is the team leader. It also forgoes an image of their base, which at the time if I recall correctly was the pentagon. As such the back of the card seems sparse and lacking of effort, which isn’t all that surprising really.